


E is for Elevator

by coolbyrne



Series: The Alphabet Series [5]
Category: NCIS
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-12
Updated: 2020-09-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:48:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,748
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26417473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coolbyrne/pseuds/coolbyrne
Summary: Will a life-changing event bring about a different kind of change in Gibbs' life? Married Slibbs
Relationships: Jethro Gibbs/Jacqueline "Jack" Sloane
Series: The Alphabet Series [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1909126
Comments: 22
Kudos: 89





	E is for Elevator

**Author's Note:**

> According to the show's own canon, Gibbs turned 66 on May 2nd (1954). The average age for a federal employee to retire is 61. The Federal Employee Retirement System works on the "Rule of 80", which is where the employee's age plus the number of years they've been an employee must add up to 80 in order to get full retirement. Gibbs is well over that total. He started at NCIS when he was 37 (1991, according to canon), which gives him 29 years worth of service. 66+29=95. But no one has mentioned retirement. Don't get me wrong, I'm not in a hurry to get rid of Gibbs, but like Slibbs, retirement has become another elephant in the room. I thought I'd try to at least acknowledge it here.
> 
> The 'sugar from her lips' comes from jenni3penny's "This Morning, With Her, Having Coffee", and the John/Monty idea (John Wayne/Montgomery Clift) is directly from her fic, "The Luckiest Man".

Later, he would think it was apt it happened in the elevator, considering how much time he spent in it, how many times epiphanies and life changing events had happened in the damn thing.

But right now, all he could think about was her and the fear in her eyes.

His hand came up to his chest and he winced in pain, and her hand immediately touched his arm.

"Sweetheart?" When he didn't answer, she quickly lowered him to the floor. "Oh God. LJ, look at me. Breathe with me." 

She went through deep inhales and exhales, never breaking eye contact even as she rummaged through her purse. Her hand shook around the container she was trying to open, and he found the strength to place his hand over hers. The touch and her own breathing exercise seemed to do the trick, because she was able to pop the top off the small bottle, though spilling half the contents onto the elevator was a confession of the lingering fear. She gently placed the pill in his mouth.

"Just Aspirin," she told him. "Chew."

He did as he was told, his eyes never leaving hers, even when the elevator stopped on his floor. The door had barely begun to open when she yelled out, "Call 911!" He heard a flurry of shouts and action but she brought his attention back to her when she brushed her hand through his hair. "Stay with me, Gunny, you hear me?" 

He felt her gold wedding band against his cheek and nodded. "Yes, Ma'am."

…..

The tension was pulled so tightly that it felt as if a pin dropping would decimate the waiting room and everyone in it. The team had followed the ambulance, their quiet morning of coffee and banter turned upside down by the image of Gibbs and Jack in the elevator. Now, the morning was filled with anxious pacing and unnerving silence. When the doctor appeared in the doorway, it was like a valve had been slowly unscrewed to release the pressure. 

"Mrs. Gibbs?"

She had never thought the address could fill her with so much dread as it did that very moment. Swallowing, she pressed her hands together to hold the fear that her heart couldn't contain. "Yes."

"Your husband's going to be fine, though we'll keep him here for a few days to monitor his heart. You did the right thing by giving him that Aspirin."

She closed her eyes, trying to push away the image of him lying on the elevator floor. "Can I see him?"

"You can, yes." He looked over her shoulder at the small group that were clearly there for the man in ICU. "I'm afraid not everyone can, though. He needs his rest. His heart needs the rest."

"I understand. Thank you, Doctor."

He nodded. "After you've seen him, go home, Mrs. Gibbs. He's going to need your strength. We'll start fresh in the morning and make a plan for the next few days, okay?"

She mirrored his nod even if her mind was already in the ICU room. The doctor departed and she turned to the team. Nick spoke up immediately.

"We heard, Jack. It's good, right?"

"Yeah." Her voice was barely above a whisper, and she drew in a deep breath to scrape together some strength. "We can't all go in," she said apologetically. "But if one of you wants to come in with me, I think that would be okay."

All eyes went to Tim, but his went to Bishop. "You go."

She shook her head. "No, it's okay, Tim. You go." Her hands were tucked under her arms and she looked like she was going to fall apart at any moment.

He rested his hands on her shoulders. "Ellie, as the senior officer in charge, that's an order."

Jack looped her arm through Bishop's. "Come on. He'll want to see you."

She sniffled. "Okay."

…..

Jack had seen him in a hospital bed on more than one occasion, but she had never seen him so frail. The sharp intake of breath from the woman beside her said the same thing. Bishop had barely held it together on the way to the room, and when she saw Gibbs, the levee broke. The sound roused him from his sleep and he reached his fingers out for her.

"Hey." The word was dry and thin, and he closed his eyes at his own weakness.

It didn't take more than Jack's gentle nudge to send Bishop rushing to the bed, her hands wiggling their way under his waist, her cheek pressing into his shoulder. His hand came up to cradle her head as her tears wet his hospital gown.

"I'm sorry," she muffled into his neck.

He hushed, "S'okay," into her hair and held her close, absorbing her sobs until she ran out of steam. His fingers gently brushed her hair back and Jack couldn't make out the words he was whispering, but they seemed to do the trick, lulling the young agent into a calmness. It was several minutes before she gently pulled away. 

Wiping her cheeks, she took a deep breath and said, "I just wanted to see you, but I really shouldn't be here. Doctor's orders."

Jack ran her hand down Bishop's arm. "He can talk to me about it if he has a problem."

The conviction in Jack's voice brought a small smile to Bishop's face. "Anyway, I should go. Everyone else will want to know how you're doing, and you two should be together."

Jack pulled her into a tight hug that was returned with equal strength. They were two women who loved deeply, and no one loved Gibbs more than they did. Jack pulled back to wipe away an errant tear on Ellie's cheek. "I'll keep you posted. Call me if you need anything, okay?"

She nodded. "You better do the same."

"I will."

Bishop's presence had given Jack a buffer from her own emotions, but now, with the agent gone and the door closed, she felt them rush to the surface. She pressed her lips together so tightly it hurt, but even the pain wasn't enough to distract her from the emotion that overwhelmed her. His hand reached out as it had for Bishop.

"C'mere."

And the floodgates opened.

…..

Time seemed to stand still and rush by in such a similar measure that Jack was startled to find it was only 3 in the afternoon when she reluctantly left him sleeping. Now, behind the wheel of the truck they'd both come to work in, she wasn't sure what to do. Her autopilot directed her towards the Navy yard, but her heart took her home. He would need some clothes and she would need his presence, even if it was only in his smell and their sheets. 

Opening the door took more courage than she would've thought, more strength to face the quietness than she expected. The keys rattled in the bowl and she had her shoes off and was on the couch before she even realized she had made the trip from the door. Her eyes had been closed for all of 3 minutes when her phone rang. She willed her heart to slow down until her brain had a chance to see the name. 

"Hey, Leon."

There was no preamble. "How is he?"

"He's as good as can be expected," she said. Hearing the words, knowing what they meant and what had happened, seemed surreal. "They'll probably give him captopril, but he should be out by Friday if things look good."

"Tell him to take as much time off as he needs," Vance ordered. "You, too. I don't care how long."

"Thanks, Leon." There was a silence on his end that pinned back her ears for a meaning. "What is it?"

There was paper rustling and a pen clicking in the background, like he was choosing his words before saying them. 

"You know, something like this can make a man take stock of his life."

Though her gut would never be as fine-tuned as Gibbs', it was good enough to suspect what was coming next. But she stayed silent, forcing him to say it.

"Has he spoken to you about retirement?"

There it was.

"Yes, we had a long talk about it on the way to the hospital."

"Jack-"

"Jesus, Leon, he's not even home." Her voice broke on the last word, and she brought a shaking hand to her forehead.

"I know. And I'm not saying you two need to talk about it right now, but as his wife, you might want-"

"I might want a lot of things, _Director_." Her friendship with Leon was one of her oldest, but it was no match for her marriage, and her terseness told him as much. "One of those things -the most important thing- is bringing my husband home."

"I understand, Jack. Keep me in the loop."

She didn't even bother saying goodbye, and wished she had Gibbs' ancient flip phone to get some satisfaction from snapping it shut.

…..

On the third day, he was cleared by the doctor, and he let her fuss over him as they got ready to leave. A nurse came in just as Jack finished smoothing out his hoodie. 

"Ready to go, Mr. Gibbs?"

"I was ready to go two days ago, Rachel."

"Don't sass the nurse who's in charge of your release papers," she warned, though she punctuated her threat with a wink. "Just going to check your blood pressure and go over a few things." 

"She just got my hoodie the way she wanted it," he said, and got a light smack from Jack in return.

It took a few moments to inflate the cuff and release the pressure, and the nurse pressed her fingers against his wrist while she counted to herself. "Really good," she said, all playfulness gone, replaced by warm approval. "Your sugar count is low, which is good, too."

"I get all the sugar I need from her lips." His head tilted towards Jack.

Rachel's eyes twinkled. "What a charmer!"

"No," Jack said, arching an eyebrow at Gibbs, "he means it literally. I put 6 sugars in my coffee."

The nurse burst out laughing. "I see why you two are married." Tapping his chest with the chart, she said, "Come to the nurses' station when you're ready. I'll have your papers and you can watch the nurses swoon over you." She turned to Jack. "I'll go over the medication and talk about setting up some cardiac rehab sessions, okay?"

Jack nodded. "Thank you." Left alone once more, she ran her hand down his arm. "You ready?" Hearing her own question, she smiled. "I know- you were ready 2 days ago. Come on."

…..

She was three steps into the house when she felt him pull her to him, to his hips, to his mouth. He kicked the door closed and wrapped his arms around her. Her tears touched his lips and he held her tighter.

"I'm okay, Sloane."

"I know. I know." Her hands framed his face and looked into his eyes, the one thing she knew she could count on the most. They looked back at her, honest and true. "But maybe we shouldn't get your heart racing just yet."

The lightness of the comment made him smile, even as he tried to frown. "This what I gotta look forward to?"

"For at least a week, yes. Go sit. Think about what you want for dinner while I go upstairs and change."

He grumbled his way to the living room while she jogged upstairs, but he bypassed the couch to go to the bookshelf against the wall. Opening the bottom drawer, he pulled out a manilla envelope, tossed it on the coffee table, and flopped onto the couch. He rested his head back against the cushion and closed his eyes. 

The aged wood gave away her return, even as she came down in socked feet, and he felt her sink in beside him.

"What's that?" she asked, as he knew she would.

"My retirement package." He opened his eyes to see her reaction.

She looked at the door then back to him. With a voice blended with confusion and anger, she asked, "Was Leon here?"

He frowned with his own confusion. "Leon gave me this over a year ago. Just before we got married."

Sidestepping the question in his eyes, she said, "Big decisions often encourage other big decisions."

"S'what he told me." He ran a hand over his face. "But marrying you wasn't a big decision."

She might have been offended if she didn't know exactly what he meant. A decision implied weighing options and factoring in pros and cons. Their marriage felt nothing like that; it was more like an inevitable destination on the path they had started down the first night she blew into his life. It was the easiest 'decision' either one had ever made.

He sat up and leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees, his eyes on the envelope. "I don't know who I am without the job, Jack."

She had heard a range of emotions in his voice over the 4 years she'd known him, and certainly in the last year she had been lucky enough to love him. But she was sure she'd never heard him sound so lost. Brushing her fingers around his ear, she leaned in to press a kiss against his temple.

"You're a father to at least one person at work," she began with another kiss, "and a mentor to a dozen more." She kissed his eyebrow. "You're a good friend and a poker buddy." The corner of his mouth twitched under her lips. "You're a grandfather to at least half the neighbourhood and a role model to the rest." She gently turned his face to look at her. "And you're a hell of a husband." He brought his hand up into her hair and kissed her. When they pulled away, she brushed her thumb across his lips. "You have defined what it means to be a Special Agent, Special Agent Gibbs. The job hasn't defined you."

As always, he gave her words the time they deserved, and she gave him a few more. 

"They'll always be your team, babe."

It was no surprise that she cut to the real heart of the issue, and he appreciated not having to be the one to say it. He showed his thanks by pulling her close for another kiss. 

"Knew I shouldn'tve married a head doctor."

She knew his sarcasm meant he was done talking about things for the time being, and considering he said more than she thought he would, she acknowledged the success with a kiss of her own. 

Partly reading her mind, he said, "I'm thirsty from all this talkin'."

She grinned and stood. "Let me get you something. Have you decided what you want to eat?"

His hand went to his stomach. "Not hungry."

"Okay. Then decide if we're watching John or Monty."

"That's a gimme," he said as she walked to the kitchen, and he smiled at her little delighted squeal. "I can catch some sleep while you swoon over your guy."

He said it like it was a title and she peeked around the corner. "He's so dreamy." 

His smile grew into a chuckle, and his hand went from his stomach to his heart. Without her in the room, it was easier to say, "Ya know, NCIS doesn't have a cold squad department."

She came out of the kitchen slowly, with 2 glasses and an arched eyebrow. "What do they need a Cold Squad for?" she asked, sitting beside him again. "Doesn't everyone have your 98.8% close rate?"

He took the glass from her. "It's 97.6. Torres keeps track."

"Of course he does." She saw his eyes flick down to the table. "But we can look into that later. Right now, all I want to look into is Monty's eyes."

He grunted at her exaggerated sigh. "What kinda name is 'Montgomery' anyway?"

"It's classic," she replied matter-of-factly. "Like 'Leroy' or 'Jethro'."

He grunted again but gladly accepted her kiss. The big screen came to life under his finger, but before he got settled, got her wedged into his side the way he liked it, he moved the envelope out of the way to make room for his feet. 

Out of the way but not out of reach.

…..

-end


End file.
